Can I claim my adult brother as a dependent? I paid over $6000 in back rent, plus his car insurance, cable tv and more for several months. We don't, can't live together.

[LeslieAnn1]

My brother and I are both senior citizens, 70 and 66, respectively. We live at different addresses. He is not able to pay me back due to his low income.

[MinhT1]

Yes, however, there are a few requirements for you to claim your brother who doesn't live with you:

1. His income must be less than $4,700 for 2023
2. He can't be claimed by someone else
3. You provided more than 50% of his support. You can use this IRS worksheet to verify that you provided more than 50% of his support
4. He must be a US citizen or legal US resident
5. He must not file a joint return, unless to claim a refund or estimated taxes

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

You do not mention what kind of income your brother receives.   And although you paid some rent and car insurance, we do not know if that was over half the cost of supporting him in 2023.   Without any personal information like SSN, provide some more details.   

He *might* be your qualified relative --for which you would get the $500 credit for other dependents.  If he qualifies as your dependent he might also be your qualifying dependent for Head of Household filing status (unless you file a joint return and do not need to file HOH).  A sibling does not have to live with you for that.

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2023 tax return as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They're related to you.
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
• They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $4,700 in 2023.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Related Information:

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent  

[Mike9241]

here are the rules all of which have to be met to be able to claim him as a dependent

1) he's unmarried

2) he's a citizen of the US, Canada, or Mexico

3) he meets the test requiring him to live with you or be related. since he's your brother. This rule is met

4) his gross TAXABLE income must be less than $4700. 

5) you provide over 50% of his support.

see this IRS worksheet to compute your support

https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf 

[LeslieAnn1]

Thank you for your detailed answer. This very helpful. To answer your first comment, he receives only social security and it's not high due to him working a lot of off-the-books jobs when he was younger.  Again, thanks for your help!

[Hal_Al]

Nontaxable Social security doesn't count as income, for the income test, but social security money he spends on himself does count as support not provided by you, for the support test. Money he puts into savings & investment does not count as support he spent on himself. Note that a sibling is closely related so there is no requirement that he live with you at any time, during the year. But if you provided a home it helps your support case. The support value of a home is the fair market rental value, divided by the number of occupants. If no one person (or married couple) provides 50% of the support (for example your other siblings are also sending support), then a "multiple support agreement” (IRS Form 2120) can be used, to allow you to claim the dependent. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2120.pdf

The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf